Glove-cleaning machine.



H. B. SABIN, A. B. TOZER & A. R. CURTIS. GLOVE CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.31,1911.

Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

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mBET B. SABIN, ARCHIBALD B. TOZER, AND ARTHUR R. CURTIS, OF CLEVELAND,OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE SABIN-CURTIS MACHINE COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND,

OHIO, A CORPORATION 0F OHIO.

Application filed August 31, 1911.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that we, HERBERT B. SABIN,ARCHIBALD B. TozER, and ARTHUR R. C URTIs, citizens ofthe UnitedStates,and residents of Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, havejointly invented a new 'and useul Improvement in Glove-CleaningMachines, of which the following 1s aspecifi'cation, the principle ofthe invention being herein explained and the best Inode 1n which we havecontemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish 1t from otherinventions. o

The present invention relates to a machine for cleaning articles whichare best cleaned by suspension in a solution, which may be a mixture ofsoap solution and benzin or any simlar liquid. In this type of machinesthe solution is caused to circulate in a continuous channel in which areplaced scrubbing means such as rotating and statlonary brushes and thelike, which operate on the articles to be cleaned as the latter arecarried by the circulating liquid.

The articles which may be cleaned by our machine are numerous but thespecific form of apparatus here illustrated is best adapted to thecleansin of leather gloves and simllar articles. ghe gloves aresubjected t0 two separate and distinct cleaning operations, neither ofwhich is alone sufficient to thoroughly clean the glove, but whichxtogether produce a most eiiicient result. These two operations are thebrushing and the chemical and physical action of the solution upon thegloves. Neither produces indeendently a perfect result but when the dlrtiias been lo'osened or attacked by the cleaning solution, the brushingcompletes the operation and removes the last trace of dirt.

In the cleaning of delicate material, such as glove leather, it is wellunderstood that not only must the material not be subjected to harshbrushing, but also it must not be treated in any machine having a rough-surface which might come in contact with the leather as the latter isvery easily stretched or torn when it is moist. The means which We useto guard against any tearing of the leather consists of a resilientmounting for one of the brushes including means for varying the initialdistance between this brush and the other brushes. The distance betweenthe resilient brush and the other Specification of Letters Patent.

serial No. 646,969.

brushes will, of course, vary according to the amount of material beingtreated.

, In order to fully protect the gloves during the cleaning operation, weprovide guard members which are placed between'the ends of the brushesand paddles and the casing and are rotated at the Same speed as thebrushes and paddles. The guard members will preferably take the form ofdisks as here illustrated, and will be attached to the brushes orpaddles in the manner shown. In this way no gloves or articles in themachine are caught and rolled or otherwise inj ured between the movingbrushes and paddles, and the stationary casing walls. The danger of thearticles being caught between the moving guard means and the casing maybe obviated in several ways. The guarding means are preferably set inrecesses in the casing in the manner illustrated.

The annexed drawing and the following description set forth in detailcertain mecha nism embodying the invention, such disclosed meansconstituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which theprinciple of the invention may be used.,

Iii'said annexed drawing: Figure 1 is a central vertical section of ourcleaning machine taken on the line 1 1 Fig. 2; arid Fig. 2 is a simlarsection taken at right angles to the plane of Fig. l and on the line2-52, Fig. 1.

In Fig. 1, is shown the outer casing 2, and the inner casing 3 thusforming a channel therebgl'reen in which is the cleaning liquid 1, whichwill fill the casing to the level 4 4. Mounted on the inner casing 3 andapproximately level with the walls thereof is a brushing member 5 heldby the bars 16 which are pivotally mounted at 17 and supported at theother end by the springs 19. Mounted on a rotatable shaft l() drivenfrom without the casing by a pulley 11 connected with a source of powerare brushes 6 which areattached to plates 7. These brushes are adaptedto substantially contact the relatively fixed brush 5. At right anglesto the sun-face of each brush 6 is a member 8 in the form of a blade orpaddle. r[he action of these blades is to cause a circulation of thecleaning fluid around the inner casing. The path of circulation will beguided by the form of the outer casing and will be substantiallyelliptical, which We have found to Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

manner just described.

give the best efficiency and fewest possible back and eddy currents in adevice of this general type.

Before proceeding with the description it will be advantageous tobriefly outline the operation. The cleaning liquid is caused tocirculate by the action of the paddle blades and the gloves or otherarticles to be cleaned are thus swept between the brushes which exert ascrubbing action on them. Considerable difficulty has been eX- periencedin keeping thel cleaning liquid, which, is preferably benzin or somesimilar hydrocarbon mixed with a suitable amount of soap solution, frombecoming contaminated with water, which renders the leather articlesbeing cleaned, hard and rough. It is impossible to keep the casingabsolutely airtight, and as the rapid levaporation of the benzin tendsto cool the solution to a temperature below that of the surroundingatmosphere, the moisture in the latter condenses and becomesintermingled with such benzin in an amount that is harmful in the beenfound advisable to maintain the cleaning liquid at or above thetemperature of the atmosphere. VFor this'purpose a twochambered conduit24 is conveniently provided connected to the interior of the casing bythe conduits`26 and 25. The latter is disposed in the position shown-inFig. -1 and receives some of the liquid as it circulates from the paddleblades. This liquid will completely fill the conduits 25, 26 and theouter chamber of conduit 24, since these are all below the level of theliquid in the cleaner. A conduit 27 is contained within the conduit 24,forming the second chamber above mentioned, and may be filled with steamor exhaust gas from an engine or fire-box which will to some extent heatthe surrounding liquid. The heated liquid will of course rise to thesurface, and new liquid will enter at the bottom, caused by the changein the density of the liquid at the different temperatures.

For rapidly collecting the gloves for removal a screen 20 is providedsliding in guides 21 on the sides of the casing. This screen is normallyin the position shown in Fig. 1, but can be lowered into the liquid whenit will collect the gloves as they are brought around by the circulatingliquid. The current is sufficient to hold them against the screen vfromwhich they can be removed through the opening 22 in the casing normallyclosed by the door 23. The rotating brushes are mounted in the casing inan improved way, being attached to disks 9 which are fixedly mounted onthe shaft and are set into recesses 28 in the sides of the casing. Bythis method of mounting no articles can be injured by being caughtbetween the disk and the casing, nor can any It has therefore.

articles be injured between the brushing means and the disks which hasbeen a source of injury to the gloves in other machines.

'ljhe particular form of outer and inner casings here shown may be ofcourse modified considerably, but it has been found that the presentform of outer casing having a recurved back 13 to direct the liquid inthe direction of arrows 14 is very efficient. The shaft rotates ofcourse in the direction indicated by the arrows 12.

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employedinstead of the one explained change being made as regardsthe mechanismherein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following'claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

l/Ve therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as ourinvention 1. In a cleaning device, the combination of a casing adaptedto receive a cleaning liquid andarticles to be cleaned; means 'adaptedto ffcause circulation of said liquid and said articles; and means forcollecting said articles during such circulation.

2. In a cleaning device, the combination of a casing adapted to receivea cleaning liquid and articles to be cleaned; means adapted lto causecirculation of said liquid and said articles; and a perforated memberadapted to be placed at some point in such circulating liquid, andadapted to retain such articles while permitting the passage ofsuchfliquid.

3; The combination of a casing adapted to :receive a cleaning liquid andarticles to be cleaned; a second casing mounted in said first-namedcasing and disposed relative to the sides and bottom of said firstcasing so as to form a continuous passage between said two casings, theplane of such passage being vertical; means for causing a circulation ofsuch liquid and articles lto be cleaned; and brushing means mounted inthe path of such circulation and parallel to the surface of such liquid.

4. The combination of a casing adapted to receive a cleanin cleaned;asecon casing mounted on said first-named casing and disposed relativeto the sides and bottom of said first casing so as to form a continuouspassage between said two casings, the plane of such passage beingvertical; stationary brushing means mounted in the path of suchcirculation and parallel to the surface of such liquid; and otherbrushing means rotatably mounted about an' axis parallel to saidstationary brushing means, said rotatable brushing means being adaptedto cause a circulation of such liquid and articles to be cleaned, and tocooperate with said stationary brushing means to cleanthe articles insuch liquid.

5. The combination of a casing adapted liquidV and articles to be4 toreceive a cleaning liquid and article to be cleaned; a second casinmounted in said first-named casing and is osed relative to the sides andbottom of said first casing so as to form a continuous passage betweensaid two casings, the plane of such passage being vertical; stationarbrushing means mounted in the path o such circulation at substantiallyright angles to the lane of the same and parallel to the sur ace of suchliquid; a plurality of brushes rotatably mounted about an axis parallelto said stationary brushing means, said rotatable brushes being adaptedto cause a circulation of such liquid and articles t0 be cleaned, and 15to coperate with said stationary brushing means to clean the articles insuch liquid; and means mounted in the path of circulation and adapted tocollect such articles.

1Signed y us this 29th day of August, 20 19 1.

HERBERT B. SABIN. ARCHIBALD B. TOZER. ARTHUR R. CURTIS.

Attested by ANNA L. GILL,

JNO. F. OBERLIN.

